Ugarte Campaign Draws Complaint Over Ballot Collection
HANS ACROSS LA - A hot contest for L.A. City Council in District 9 has sparked an outcry over possible ethics and legal violations. Allegations of coercion and unlawful collection of mail-in ballots have engulfed the campaign of candidate José Ugarte.
Early vote tabulations in the Council contest, to represent voters in South Central L.A., appeared to show a commanding lead for Ugarte, deputy chief of staff for the outgoing Councilmember Curren Price, over housing advocate Estuardo Mazariegos. But as vote totals updated each day after Nov. 3, that advantage of more than 1,500 votes dwindled to a scant margin of about 300.
Then on Nov. 9, the campaign of Estuardo Mazariegos filed a complaint with the L.A. County Registrar Recorder citing concerns of heavy-handed and potentially unlawful tactics by Ugarte’s campaign.
“The Estuardo Mazariegos campaign for L.A. City Council District 9 reached out to the L.A. County Registrar/Recorder with possible evidence of illegal ballot harvesting,” stated a press release on Nov. 9 by Megan Choi representating the Mazariegos campaign.
“The campaign has been receiving reports from CD9 residents of voter intimidation, illegal ballot harvesting, and fraud throughout the month of October to election day.”
One image from the community in Council District 9 posted online by local small business leader and former candidate Jorge Nuño shows what appears to be a campaign worker with an armload of 50 to 100 completed mail-in ballots. The campaign worker is captured in the image stuffing the completed ballots into an official L.A. County ballot drop box. The date of the posting with photo appears to be Nov. 2, the penultimate day to vote.
Some community members have identified the campaign worker as a staffer on the Ugarte campaign named Amir King. King is also shown online as an officer of the Trojan Democratic Club on the club’s Web site. King also appears to be the person in the front row of a Curren Price staff group shot on the Councilmember’s 2027 giveaway calendar. Community members have identified as King the person on the calendar wearing a blue suit that closely resembles the one shown in his headshot on the Democratic club’s Web site.
The allegations of coercion, unlawful ballot collection, and fraud that are embroiling the Ugarte campaign have not been proven.
Still, red flags about ethics violations are not unfamiliar to Ugarte or his candidacy. In October 2025, Ugarte received a very significant fine of $17,500 from the L.A. City Ethics Commission for failing to divulge income from outside consulting on his required disclosure forms as a city employee.
José Ugarte
Both Price and Ugarte sought to downplay the findings of that city ethics investigation and resulting fine of Ugarte just one year ago as a “clerical” error. But it would strain credulity to dismiss as minor any concern of possibly far more serious impropriety in the Council District 9 campaign. As smoke intensifies, Angelenos should not ignore any fire alarm that might blare soon from South Central.
(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)
